A laboratory will be established to monitor the health of marine animals used in research at the Marine Biological Laboratory and the adjacent scientific community at Woods Hole, Mass. This will involve the investigation of disease outbreaks, evaluation of clinical signs and lesions, and development of diagnostic methods for recognition of infectious, parasitic, and toxicologic diseases. The laboratory will participate in the development of disease-free or disease-defined stocks, genetically defined strains, and other research animal needs. The laboratory will have capability for utilizing pathology, bacteriology, parasitology, virology, immunology, and toxicology in its investigations. A body of knowledge will be developed to assist in the maintenance of marine research animals free of diseases that interfere with experiments and bias the results. A long-range goal is the standardization of stocks of marine species suitable for well-controlled research.